:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1350489/GYI0062165289.jpg)
Tomorrow marks the first day of classes for Purdue students. Going into my last year at Purdue, I'm extremely excited to see what our athletics will be like, especially football and basketball. On this beautiful Sunday we have a football double-header. So take a seat, and enjoy the show.
Our first player is going to play a huge role in our offense this season. His name has been tossed around in a few preseason All-Big Ten team lists, and he has progressed every season as a Boilermaker. He is also solid at American Sign Language, and will be the go to target for our quarterback(s).
Antavian Edison - Sr.
Hometown: Fort Meyers, FL (Dunbar HS)
Wide Receiver
5'11" 175 pounds
2012 projection: starter at wide receiver
After a summer of turmoil and legal issues, Antavian Edison begins his final season with a clean slate. In May, Edison was faced with a felony charge of having a concealed firearm in his vehicle. Edison was carrying a "Pink Lady" .38 special revolver. Which if you asked me what that was, I would probably tell you it was some sort of sex toy. Thankfully, I don't deal with that sort of stuff. The charges against Edison were dropped, and now he looks to be the focal point of our receiving core.
Edison has appeared in all 25 games over the past two seasons and caught a pass in every game during the 2011 season. He also spent some time at the running back in 2010 when injuries plagued that position. He proved himself to be one of the top receivers in The Big Ten when he finished the season with 583 reception yards and 3 touchdowns. Brian Bennett, a Big Ten writer for ESPN, broke down The Big Ten's best receivers and listed Edison as 4th in the conference.
Antavian may not be the biggest receiver in The Big Ten, but he's showed with his speed and route running capabilities that he is a big play threat. Last year he had a career high 105 reception yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame (suck it, Irish!), 97 yards against Iowa, and a big game against IU where he hauled in 3 receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 26 yards and another touchdown (suck it, Hoosiers!). He also had another awesome 55 yard bomb that he caught for a touchdown against the Hoosiers in 2010. Like I said, the guy is a play maker.
I had two summer classes with Edison and worked with him in multiple group projects. He is a good guy who is dedicated to football and academics, and could definitely be a guy you could clown around with. It looks like Edison was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time earlier this May. Regardless, the charges were dropped, Atavian got his "get out of jail free card", and now we can put this behind us and cheer for one of our key seniors as he helps contribute to another season of Purdue football.
Antavian is active on Twitter. Give him a follow @EliteBreeze13
Our second player in the double-feature is another athletic freshmen quarterback who will look to work his way up into the system for playing time.
Erich Berzinskas - Fr.
Hometown: Clinton, Conn. (The Morgan School HS)
Quarterback
6'5" 205 pounds
2012 projection: redshirt
Berzinskas is joining Purdue this year after attending a year of prep-school at Milford Academy; the same prep-school that teammate Carlos Carvajal and former Boiler, Ken Plue. During his time at Milford, Berzinskas passed for 633 yards on 40 completions of 82 attempts. He also threw for six touchdowns and two interceptions during his time there. Milford Academy was also the No. 1 prep-school in the nation during his time there.
In high school, Berzinskas threw for over 2,800 yards which led his conference. He was also a basketball player and member of the Honor Roll. Berzinskas is a bright, athletic kid who could have a decent future on this team after a year of red-shirting. As of now, we just have too many quarterbacks. It's even possible he could be moved to another position. But for now, we'll just wait and see what the coaching staff decides.